Reed said the early primaries and caucuses will narrow the crowded field, but the cull likely won't be complete before Washington gets its turn when the state holds its caucuses Feb. 9 and the primary vote Feb. 19.

That means the Evergreen State likely will be hosting the front-runners and the national media next month.

"This is an historic election," Reed said.

"For the first time since 1952 we don't have a sitting president or vice president on the ballot. ... (The states that decide earliest) are spread geographically all over the country, so experts don't think one candidate is going to sweep these primaries. They think it is going to narrow it down to the top two or three candidates coming into our primary on (Feb.) 19th."

In Washington, the major political parties have a complex process of nominating delegates to send to their respective national conventions, where they will formally decide who their nominee will be.

Since 1989, this state has also had a primary election.

The state Democrats do not heed the results of the primary at all, while the Republicans allot 51 percent of their delegates to the voters' top choice.

Reed said although the parties like to think they pull all the strings in the caucus process, the number of delegates at stake in each state has very little to do with which candidates actually get selected.

The primary is a better indicator of which candidates people like, he said.

"Really, it's about proving electability, and if they aren't viable candidates, if they aren't actually going to be able to do it, then they end up dropping out," Reed said.

Washington could have decided to hold its primary on Super Tuesday -- Feb. 5 -- with more than 20 other states but chose not to out of concerns that the results would be lost in the crowd.

"I think that we could be very influential in terms of demonstrating which one of these candidates can win," Reed said. "Washington is the second-largest state in the western United States."

"It sends a bad message when the voters approve by initiative a presidential primary in this state and the Democratic Party has never lifted a finger to try to make it a meaningful primary in their process," Esser said.

Esser said that splitting the selection process between the primary and the caucuses is a way to recognize the fact that the primary allows participation from people who can't participate in the caucus, such as members of the military who serve overseas or people who work on caucus day.

"Don't get me wrong, we like the caucuses, we think there is real value to them," Esser said. "The caucuses do serve an important party-building function. ... We tried to find a balance between the two."

Esser added: "On the Republican side, things are so wide open, there is every reason to think that we are going to have a meaningful chance to participate and vote in the Republican caucus and the primary."

If the races are still undecided next month, Washington state will be added to the candidates' itineraries.

"We are going to have candidates coming to the state of Washington, paying attention to our issues and campaigning for votes," he said. "The major candidates have already been here for fundraising, I think they actually will come out here. ... We can definitely expect some campaign visits and not just fundraising visits."

Washington State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz agreed that Washington's caucuses will make a difference on the national election front.

As opposed to primaries, caucuses do more than just poll the electorate, they build political connections, he said.

"Primaries are all about advertising and big budgets, and caucuses are all about grass-roots turnout," Pelz said.

He also thinks Super Tuesday will not be the end of the selection process.

"It doesn't appear that it will be the knockout blow that was once anticipated," Pelz said. "I think there will be two or more (Democratic) presidential candidates running after Super Tuesday and they are going to get on a plane and come out to Washington state and ask us for our votes because we are the next big thing."